CORWEN TO BALA, rp,/ 



Dor, a breaking of the earth. The daear-dor is a 

 .diflodgementj by means of v»'ater, of a vail quantity 

 of the furface of the ground, or, as in the prefent 

 inftance, of a confiderable part of fome of the rocks 

 among the higher mountains. An imufual volume 

 of water defcending fuddenly from the clouds be- 

 comes lodged in fome confined fiaiatjon : by degrees 

 it penetrates die earth, and this loofening, the whole 

 mafs is fwept along before the torrent, till it meets 

 with refiftimce in fome of the vales beiow^ v/here it 

 is therefore depofited. The aci:!dent near Llanwch- 

 llyn happened after a yioient ilorm of thunder. The 

 banks of the Twrch were overflowed, and the tor- 

 rent carried every thing before it that was ai-ot a£lu- 

 ally embedded in the rock. Seventeen cotLages, 

 ten cows, and a vaft number -of fheepi, befides the 

 foil of all the meadov/s and corn-iaelds along its 

 courfe, were overwhelmed and deftroyed. This 

 meadow, in which the river depofited its chief con- 

 tents, was rendered totally unlit to be any more 

 cultivated. The dimenlions of fome of the pieces 

 of rock borne here by tlie fury of the torrent, are 

 almoft inconceivable. Two of the Hones came in 

 contaft, which were each near twentv i^t'i lone, 

 eight broad, and fix deep, and by ihe coilifion onq 

 of them was fpiit. Eight other Itones, about half 

 „this fize, were carried near nine hundred yards be- 

 yond. Five bridges were fwept away ; and had not 

 the inhabitants of Llanv.chllyn, providentially, re- 

 ceived timely aliu-m, every one of them would have 



\ been 



